Warriors Rewind: 5 thoughts on Warriors 119, Denver 104

After going up by 30 early on Denver, the Warriors sleepwalked through the second half and let the upstart Nuggets hang around a bit (though at no point did anyone think the Dubs would lose the game). It was another ho-hum contest where even the most ardent Warriors Fo' Life! fan probably demoted the game to second-screen status in favor of checking their Facebook feed.

Nonetheless, here are five thoughts:

• Luke Walton and his staff clearly wanted to get Klay going early. He took 3 of the Warriors first 4 shots and finished with a nice line of 18, 6, and 5, and shot 4 of 8 from three. Hopefully this game can be a foundation for a run of solid play for the all-star.
• Until Klay gets going though, Steph's numbers are going to continue to be ridiculous. He again shot 50% or better from three going 8 of 16(!), and also finished second highest on the team in plus-minus with a +14. The highest plus-minus went to Draymond (+18). Speaking of which...
• Dray really should have won Defensive Player of the Year last season. In the same way that Steph makes a few incredible plays a game on offense, Draymond does the same, but on defense. His being able to switch 1 through 5, and do it well, is what makes the Dubs frenetic switching and trapping defense work. I love me some Kawhi Leonard but I thought he missed too many games last year to deserve the award over Green.
• There was a play in the first quarter around the 6-minute mark where Steph was on the left wing and couldn't enter the ball to Ezeli (who was being fronted) in the middle of the lane, but he saw Draymond on the other wing, so he quickly threw him the ball cross court. Dray then promptly dropped the ball into Ezeli, who followed up with a monster dunk (since his defender had been fronting him on the other side). These are the plays that really show off Steph's growth as a point guard. He made that pass knowing Draymond would dump it off for the dunk. Hockey assist.
• After a Gallinari made-three, on the telecast Bob Fitzgerald said, "Gallinari, he'll part your hair." I have no idea what that means (maybe it's old man slang), but I loved it. It was much better than when he just resets the lineup for the audience 8 times a game, quite frankly.